Venting cap



Aug. 13, 1940. J, H, woo s 2210,996

VENTING CAP Filed Aug. 28, 1937 Patented Aug. 13; 1940 PATENT oF-Flcs VENTTNG GAP James H. WoodaNewton Center, Mass, assignon to Economic Steel Rack 00., Everett, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application August 28, .1937; Serial No. 161,474

2 Claims.

This invention relates to venting caps or covers for the discharge ends. of pipes and especially those that are in communication with vessels containing combustible liquids to permit the free venting of the vessel while preventing entrance of foreign matter into the pipe.

The most commonly used vent cap heretofore is one constructed of cast iron either bored to be driven on the unthreaded end of the vent pipe or internally screw-threaded to be screw-thread-' ed on the pipe. Such vent caps are relatively expensive as compared with the present invention, are liable to breakage because of their rather brittle cast metal construction, and have a rough interior surface to which dust, cobwebs, cocoons and the like can cling so that the venting area is liable to become clogged.

While sheet metal vent caps have been proposed their constructions have been relatively complicated and expensive so that up to the present invention the cast iron ventcap has been the usually, if no the. universally, used device for the purpose.

An object of the present invention is the provision of a pressed sheet metal vent cap having as a unitary structure an inverted dome which overlies and surrounds the open end of the vent pipe and is approximately coaxial therewith and clamping arms which engage the pipe below the top thereof and secure the cap in place.

A further object of the invention is a vent cap as above described wherein the clamping arms are adapted to extend above the top of the venting pipe and function in effect as a continuation of the pipe and are terminated in a predetermined part of the dome so that the position of the effective outlet of the pipe within the dome is predetermined and constant regardless of the.

position of the cap on the pipe.

A yet further object of the invention is the provision of a venting cap as above described wherein the clamping arms have means which overlie and engage the top end of the pipe to define the position of the cap on the pipe.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a vent cap having a venting dome and pipe clamping arms, the arms and the dome being connected together at one side of the dome and the clamping arms being extended below the dome and having clamping ears or other suitable parts which closely underlie the opposite edge of the dome so as to support the dome if undue axial pressure is exerted thereon.

It is common in difierent installations to employ vent pipes of different diameters. Heretovent cap for each different diameter of vent pipe. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vent cap which is adapted to be secured to the largest diameter of vent pipe commonly employed and an adapter or adapters of cheap sheet metal construction which condition the vent cap to be clamped onto vent pipes of smaller diameters. Thus with the use of one or two inexpensive adapters the same vent ,cap can be clamped to vent pipes of all the different diameters that are commonly employed.

A furtherobject of the invention is generally to improve the construction of vent caps.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a ventcap embodying the present invention, the cap being illustrated as clamped to the end of a vent pipe, V Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation through the cap and pipe of Fig.1.

Fig. 3 is-a plan view looking into the interior of the end cap of Fig. 1.

; Fig. 4 is a section taken along linev 4-4! of Fig. 5 is a section taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but illustrating the use of an adapter for securing the cap to a small diameter vent pipe.

Fi .7 is a sectional detail taken along line 'l-'| of Fi 6.

The vent cap herein illustrated as embodying the present invention comprises a generally semispherical dome l0 composed of a sheet metal stamping provided with smooth internal and external faces having the straight bottom edge. l2 of a generally circular configuration and the flat areared top portion l4, best illustrated in Fig. 5. The dome is also provided with a fiat depending wall It at one side thereby permitting the cap to be placed on a vent pipe as the pipe l8 which may lie close along side the face of a building wall 20.

The cap is provided with a clamping ring comprising a pair of resilient parallel clamping arms 22 which are approximately semi-cylindrical in configuration and cooperate to bound a circular pipe receiving enclosure. The arms 22 are integral and are connected by an intermediate channel section having a fiat wall 24 which abuts the flat inner face of the wall l6 of the dome and is secured. rigidly thereto by suitable means as rivets 26, the heads of the rivets lying within the channel outside the pipe receiving space defined by the arms 22. The clamping arms 22 are of substantial width and extend for about half or more of their width below the lower edge [2 of the dome Ill. The arms also extend upwardly into the dome and terminate therein well above the lower edge thereof and are spaced equally from the depending circular part of the dome to provide a venting passage of predetermined cross-section.

The free ends of the arms 22 are terminated in confronting spaced clamping ears 28 which closely underlie the edge l2 of the dome on the side opposite the flat wall l6 as is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 and thus support the dome against deflection when subjected to an endwise pressure. The ears 28 are provided with aligned apertures 30 through which a clamping bolt 32 is passed to draw the ears toward each other and thereby to clamp the arms 22 about the end of the pipe I8.

The clamping arms 22 are provided with internally directed projections 34 which are struck out of the upper portions of the arms on approximately diametrically opposite sides of the cap and are adapted to overlie and be engaged with the end face of the pipe and provide abutments which define the position of the pipe in the cap.

The clamping arms extend inwardly of the dome a substantial distance above the top of the pipe as defined by the projections 34 and thereby form a continuation of the pipe which is terminated a predetermined distance within and spaced from the inner face of the dome so that the venting area between the top of the arms and the wall of the dome is predetermined even though the cap may not be positioned on the pipe to the full extent permitted by the projections 34.

The configuration of the arms 22 is adapted to be such as to permit the cap to be clamped upon the largest diameter of venting pipe in common use. For conditioning the cap to be clamped upon smaller pipes the adapter 36, as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7, is employed. Said adapter comprises an inexpensive strip of thin sheet metal formed with the transverse corrugations 38 and the flat ends 40. The strip is adapted to be located within the arms 22 with the flat ends 40 in loose overlapping relation in the channel section of the clamp, the strip being abutted against the projections 34. The pipe l8a is located within the corrugated adapter strip and is adapted to be engaged and gripped by the apexes of the corrugations when the clamping arms are drawn together by the clamping bolt. For use with a still smaller diameter of vent pipe a similar adapter strip but formed with deeper corrugations can be employed.

I claim:

1. A vent cap comprising an inverted dome having a depending flattened wall portion, wide clamping arms located within the open end of said dome and projecting therebelow and having an intermediate channel provided with a flat connecting portion abutted against and fixed to the inner face of said flattened wall portion, said clamping arms opposite said flat portion having opposed confronting clamping ears which close- 1y underlie and are adapted to engage the edge of said dome opposite said flattened wall portion, said clamping arms having projections struck out of the width of said arms and reflexed inwardly and positioned edgewise with respect to the pipe space between said arms and constituting pipe engaging abutments which are adapted to overlie the end of a pipe between said arms.

2. A vent cap comprising an inverted housing having pipe clamping arms, and an adapter comprising a strip of flexible metal having transverse corrugations located within and adapted to be compressed against the pipe by said arms, said strip having loosely overlapping ends and said vent cap having a channel between said arms in which channel said overlapped ends are located loosely.

JAMES H. WOODS. 

